The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to start planning everything you want to achieve. This could be personal goals for some, but many choose to set career and professional goals. The power that successful trade shows is constantly proven, so this should be something you’re involved in no matter what your industry is. A new year gives you the chance to think about how you can improve your business’s trade show performance.
Here are ten exhibit ideas that you should try out in to help bring in more people.
1. Add interactive elements
As technology becomes more and more important, you need to create trade show exhibits that reflect that. Today, simply having people speak at your booth won’t be enough to draw people in or keep them engaged. To do this, you need to include some interactive technology. Videos and other types of media are great ways to inform visitors about your business while also keeping them interested. Not only will this be good for visitors, but it can also help make it easier for you, as your visitors will be able to entertain themselves for a while.
2. Engage visitors’ senses
Most people will agree that trade shows can become overwhelming quickly. This can make it extremely difficult to stand out in the crowd. When you’re planning for your next trade show, it’s important to keep people’s senses in mind. You want to create something that will engage their senses so that they come over to you. This can be achieved by making some small changes, like bringing your own lighting. If it’s allowed, you should also consider having music playing that can help catch people’s attention.
3. Make your space inviting
Trade shows can make long, tiring days for everyone attending. They can often be overcrowded, especially many booths. While you might want to have as many displays and other elements with you, it can be more effective to simply create a welcoming environment for your guests. Including a sitting area for visitors to come in, relax for a few moments, and have a meaningful conversation with your team. This will surely be a nice change from many booths.
4. Host prizes and games
Having contests and games at your booth is a simple way of getting people to come to your exhibit. Once people see or hear about what’s going on at your exhibit, you’ll be at the top of their list of booths to visit. Contests and games also make it easy for you to get the chance to take down people’s information. Not only will this draw people in, but it can make them have a genuinely good time, which can leave them with a great impression of your brand.
5. Get amazing giveaways
Whenever you attend a trade show, you’re going to end up with a tote bag full of branded items, many of which will probably end up being thrown away. In the moment, everyone wants to take free items when they’re offered, but you also want them to keep them. By carefully selecting what you want to hand out, you can ensure that people will have and keep something with your brand name on it.
6. Include a charging station
You can be sure that everyone at the trade show will be on their phones for a good portion of the day. Everyone there depends on their phone and all of them will be dreading having their battery slowly dying throughout the event. Busy days don’t allow much time for people to charge their phones, but you can give them the chance if they visit your exhibit. By having charging stations at your booth, you’re likely to attract a lot of people and they’ll stay long enough to have a real conversation.
7. Create a photo-op
Many people look for the chance to take a nice photo whenever they can. By making a space at your exhibit just for this, you could see more people coming over to you. These people won’t only have a reason to visit your booth, but they’ll also likely post their pictures from it. This is an easy way of getting even more advertising for your business.
8. Show a demo
While videos can work great, being able to show a live demo at your exhibit can be even better. If you have a product that can be shown off at the trade show, people are certain to flock to your booth to see what’s going on. This won’t only catch their attention, but it’s also a great way to get people interested in your business.
9. Provide food and drinks
Few things draw people in more than giving them free food and drinks. There’s bound to be people there who haven’t had anything to eat or drink in hours and will happily visit your booth for a quick snack. While they’re there, you’ll have a great audience who are already thankful for your exhibit, which is a great time to strike a conversation.
10. Hold an educational workshop
For many businesses, the goal of any trade show is to be able to teach visitors about what products and services they offer and how it could benefit them. During trade shows, many people are looking for the chance to learn more about the industry they’re in and there are few better ways of doing this than by having a workshop. Visitors will leave knowing everything you want them to know about your business.
